DIAGEO 20TH ANNIVERSARY: STILL INNOVATING

This week Diageo – one of the largest and most progressive drinks companies – celebrated two decades since its inception, and the eve of further innovation. The publicly listed company (plc) Diageo was created in 1997 from the merger of

$4.4m FOR EMPTY BRUNSWICK PUB

An unnamed buyer has secured the blank canvas freehold of Melbourne’s promising East Brunswick Hotel at auction for $4.4 million. The former CUB pub on the corner of Lygon and Albert Streets has seen several incarnations over the years, and

FUNLAB TO LAUNCH KINGS CROSS HOLEY MOLEY

Funlab is set to open its eighth instalment of putt-putt pub Holey Moley, in the rapidly gentrifying precinct of Kings Cross. The Holey Moley sensation began in 2016, the first venue opening in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, followed in April this

TABCORP-TATTS MERGER CLEARS ALL HURDLES

After more than a year of debate, the combining of Tabcorp and Tatts Group has been given final approval and shareholders notified. The proposed $11bn merger between the two ASX-listed Australian gaming companies was announced mid-October 2016. The Australian Competition

DASH TO MARKET AS RAILWAY PICKS UP STEAM

The Dash family are looking to part with their Warragul stalwart, the reinvented Railway Hotel. The family has a history in pubs, previously owning Warragul’s O&H Hotel, and currently freehold of the Dava Hotel in Mount Martha. The family will

PARRAMATTA EYES CURFEW – AND 216-YEAR-OLD PUB

Parramatta Council has been discussing a proposal to restrict late-trading for much of the precinct’s licensed venues, just as pub history is honoured with the unveiling of buried treasure. Sydney’s second CBD has been experiencing phenomenal growth in the past

RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE DEMONSTRATE CHANCE

A spate of unlikely violent incidents highlights the unpredictable nature of random acts by people on people, and the near-impossible ask of controlling for everything. In September, 18-year-old Brody David Marston went to the Currimundi Hotel with his brother, drinking

OXFORD HOTEL MEANS TAYLOR SQUARE HATTRICK FOR UNIVERSAL

Universal Hotels has landed a trifecta in Taylor Square with acquisition of Pelathon’s Darlinghurst icon, the Oxford Hotel. The pub on the corner of the eponymous Oxford Street and Bourke Street went through several name changes and minor geographical repositioning

NEW GROUP REINVENTING NEWMARKET HOTEL AND PUB GAME

A group of hospitality veterans is reviving and reinventing both the Newmarket Hotel and the landlord rule book, embracing insightful investment. Leisure Investment North Queenland (LINQ) Hotel Management is fronted by Richard Mraz, who arranged purchase of the freehold property